It’s finally here.
No rivalry matters as much to high school football at the national level as the annual duel between the Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs and the St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves, and this year’s meeting is no different. St. John Bosco enters the game as the nation’s unanimous No. 1 team, and the Braves only have to win out to claim the national championship.
But as always, that path to the title will run through Mater Dei, even in a year when the No. 15 Monarchs are out of the championship picture having already suffered two losses. Mater Dei, however, can still play spoiler, and a win over the Braves could significantly impact the national title race. So, while there are other big games this week, there’s rarely a regular season game bigger than Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco, and this edition of the rivalry is The Sporting News High School Football Game of the Week.
Mater Dei enters the game with a 6-2 record, the first time the Monarchs have lost more than a single game in a season since 2015 when they finished 10-3. Mater Dei’s run of back-to-back national championships appears to be over, but the Monarchs, who have won at least a share of six national titles in the past eight years, are still a formidable opponent on any given Friday night. St. John Bosco won two national titles of its own in the two years that Mater Dei didn’t win a title in that span, and they’ve appeared to be the better team all year long.
But even in those two years that Bosco won a national championship, they lost to Mater Dei in the regular season on each occasion. The Braves overcame those losses by winning out in the playoffs, finishing 13-1 in 2019 and 2022, and a loss here wouldn’t necessarily eliminate the Braves. St. John Bosco was the unanimous national champion in both of those seasons.
The difference this year is, they’ll have to hold off the undefeated IMG Academy [Bradenton, FL] Ascenders who get two big opportunities to pad their resume over the next two weeks, including a game against the current No. 4 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers. St. John Bosco beat St. Frances, 21-14, back on September 5, but with a loss to Mater Dei, that might not be enough to hold off the Ascenders if they finish undefeated with a win of their own against the Panthers.
And that’s to say nothing of the two undefeated Georgia Class 6A powers currently ranked in the Top 6 of The SN Top 25. The SN No. 3 Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams and the SN No. 6 Buford [GA] Wolves would also receive national title consideration if either of them finishes undefeated.
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SN No. 15 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs at SN No. 1 St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves
LAST WEEK’S GAME OF THE WEEK SN No. 12 Allen [TX] Eagles 31, SN No. 25 Prosper [TX] Eagles 30
Friday, October 31, 2025
Panish Family Stadium, Bellflower, California | 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
TV/Streaming: NFHS Network
Local Media Coverage: Los Angeles Times High School Sports
School Athletics Websites: Mater Dei Athletics | St. John Bosco Athletics
School Social Media: Mater Dei Monarchs Football on X.com @MDFootball | St. John Bosco Braves Football on X.com @boscofootball
The Background
Where do you even begin with these two storied programs? Let’s make it easy here, and just focus on 2025.
There’s no way around it, this edition of Mater Dei has not been up to the Monarchs’ usual standard. And, the reality is, there’s no way a school can maintain the level this program has been at over the past eight years as they became the nation’s premier high school football program. An eventual reset, if not a rebuild, was long overdue as Mater Dei entered this season with five losses in 10 years — all five of those coming at the hands of this week’s opponent, the St. John Bosco Braves.
But Mater Dei already has two losses this season, losing to the Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies and the Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles for the first time in at least a decade, and for the first time in that span, the Monarchs have already been eliminated from the national title conversation.
St. John Bosco, on the other hand, maintains the pole position in the race for the 2025 national championship, but Mater Dei would love nothing better than to knock their archrivals out of the picture. One loss might not be enough, but there’s also the reality that these two California titans could meet again in a few weeks in the Golden State’s Southern Section playoffs – a game that would have an even bigger impact on the national championship race than this game.
Top Recruits
- Mater Dei’s problems haven’t been talent-related, of course. They have as much Division I talent as any team in the country, including prospects in every position group. They have 10 seniors listed on the 247sports.com Class of 2026 for California, and they’ve got 12 more in their junior class. That doesn’t even begin to count the sophomores and freshmen that will eventually receive star ratings in the future. Those underclassmen have been particularly helpful on defense where a number of freshmen and sophomores are among the team leaders in tackles. Top senior prospects include 5-star TE Mark Bowman (USC) and 4-star recruits like OT Kodi Green (6-6, 320 lbs., Washington), WR Chris Henry Jr. (Ohio State), WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Ohio State), DL Tomuhini Topui (6-3, 320 lbs, USC) and EDGE Shaun Scott (6-3, 230 lbs., USC). Top 4-star junior prospects include CB Aaryn Washington and CB Danny Lang.
- St. John Bosco has nine seniors listed on 247sports.com’s Class of 2026 prospects for California led by two future 4-star SEC wide receivers in Madden Williams (Texas A&M) and Daniel Odom (Oklahoma). A third wideout, Carson Clark, is a 3-star committed to San Jose State, and TE Na’o Tito is a 3-star prospect bound for Sacramento State. Cornerback Joshua Holland (USC), EDGE Dutch Horisk (Oregon), DL Laneselota Olive-Enos (6-1, 266 lbs., Portland State), LB Matthew Muasau (UCLA), and IOL Adrian Tavui (6-4, 295 lbs., uncommitted) round out a deep class. Top Class of 2027 junior prospects include 4-star defensive backs Jailen Hill and Isala Aisa Wily-Ava, and nine 3-star prospects led by S Dillon Davis, CB Jacob Whitehead, RB Maliq Allen, and LB Ethan Coach.
When Mater Dei has the ball …
Ryan Hopkins is the triggerman for the Monarchs’ offense, but he’s been erratic and error-prone at times in key moments. He’s thrown for 1,722 yards, completing 60.2 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns. He’s thrown six interceptions, however, and he’ll have to limit the mistakes against a St. John Bosco squad that can turn those turnovers into points. His favorite target is Dixon-Wyatt (34 rec.-572 yards, 4 TDs), but his 5-star tight end Bowman also sees his share of targets resulting in 21 receptions for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns to date. Senior Justin Lewis has been the top ball carrier with 71 totes for 408 yards and 6 touchdowns.
When St. John Bosco has the ball …
In comparison to Hopkins, Bosco’s quarterback Koa Malau’ulu has been nearly unstoppable. The sophomore has connected on 72.5 percent of his attempts for 2,002 passing yards with 30 touchdowns and only one interception. Four of his favorite targets have snared at least 23 catches with Williams (35 rec.-712 yards, 8 TDs) and Odom (34 rec.-503 yards, 6 TDs) leading the way. The efficiency of the Braves’ passing game has opened up the rushing lanes as well with a running-back-by-committee approach that features three rushers with at least 37 carries. The junior Allen holds a narrow lead in rushing yards with 358 markers to sophomore Corey Hinton’s 335.
Keys to the game
Mater Dei wins if the Monarchs can finally put together a complete game, similar to their effort at the Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels on September 19. Mater Dei won that game, 27-24, on the road while the Gaels were ranked No. 1, and it remains the Monarchs’ best performance of the year. Mater Dei has mostly played to the level of its opponents all year, and only one game, has resulted in more than a 15-point margin. The good news for the Monarchs is that came against the JSerra Catholic [San Juan Capistrano, CA] Lions last week in a 40-7 romp, and that could be bad news for the Braves if Mater Dei is finally starting to pull themselves together.
St. John Bosco wins if the team that has showed up all year to date is the same team we see Friday night in Bellflower. The Braves haven’t played quite the schedule that Mater Dei has had to maneuver, but they do have the biggest win to date when comparing the two squads. Their 21-14 win over the current No. 4 St. Frances Academy might be the best win of the year, considering the Panthers are the nation’s top-ranked one-loss team.
Looking Ahead
You don’t have to look too far ahead to see how these two teams might run into each other again. A win for Bosco would keep the Braves on track for a potential national title, but depending on where Mater Dei is seeded, the two teams could end up meeting relatively early in California’s CIF Southern Section playoffs. It’s never easy to beat a team as talented as the Monarchs multiple times in one season, and this Bosco squad might be tested like no other Braves’ squad in recent memory if they win this game and then have to play the Monarchs again.
Series history
Mater Dei holds a 32-13 advantage in the series since 1966, including two wins against St. John Bosco last year. The Monarchs have won three straight in the series with the Braves’ last win coming in a narrow 24-22 win on November 25, 2022.
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